This afternoon was a pretty frustrating time for me. I have this tree which has completly bent over my driveway. It has bent all the way to being parallel with the ground. With all this rain it almost touches the ground. So, it's been like this for several months. It's still alive and keeps growing. I decided it's about time to cut it down. It's not too big around so I figured this would be a great first tree to cut down.

So I get my chainsaw out of the shed and noticed some rust where the bar goes in. I guess the shed is a poor place to keep a chainsaw. Anyway, being the novice chainsaw user that I am, I never did the recommended maintenance last spring - which was the last time I used it. So, I get out my gas/oil mixture. Yes, it has been sitting in there since last spring. I fill her up and attempt to start it - surprise, I couldn't get it to start. I emptied the gas (since I had left gas in there from last spring) and filled it up again. Finally, the engine started cranking - but it wouldn't stay on. After trying for about 10 minutes, I finally got it to stay on while spinning the chain.

So, I proceed to the tree. After cutting my way through some thick prickly brush, I made it to the base of the tree. I really have no idea how to properly cut down a tree, but I figured this small one wouldn't give me any problems. I had watched a friend cut down a standing tree, so I guess that made me an expert . Like a dummy, I begin the cut on the inside of the bend. I had actually thought out this process ahead of time, but I guess my thoughts were based on novice ideas. So, my bar and chain started to stall halfway in. And then it stopped. It was pinched in the kerf. After about an hour of tugging, cutting with a handsaw, and drilling, the chain was just as stuck as it was when I started. As you can imagine, I was boiling. It was the chain that was stuck - the bar was moving. So I ended up unscrewing the bar from the saw and slipped the bar off the chain. That part was no problem. The chain is still out there stuck in the tree.

After all that, I decided to do some of the needed maintenance on the saw. I discovered how poorly the Stihl manual is in explaining the procedures. It tells you what and when to do it, but not how. Some things I couldn't find any mention at all in the manual. Still, I managed to clean a lot of gunk from it.

Tomorrow, I will buy a new chain and attempt this again. If anyone wants to offer any advise, point out the wrong things I did, or just laugh at my stupidity, feel free.

Stefan